'Tortured'? Selena catches the blame for Justin's misbehavior

As Justin Bieber's quarantined capuchin monkey languishes in a German animal shelter, damage control has begun in earnest over his recent spate of bad behavior, which includes allegedly spitting in a neighbor's face and threatening a paparazzo. According to TMZ, his inner circle is now pointing the finger for his supposed spiral directly at his ex-girlfriend, Selena Gomez.

Insiders claim Bieber, 19, is "suffering his first case of heartbreak" and was "torn apart" when the brunette beauty, 20, called time on their capricious two-year romance late last year after a "blowout argument" in Mexico. What's more, he's allegedly acting out because he feels "tortured" by her inability to make "a clean break."

TMZ says Selena is "regularly calling him and sending him mixed messages, and it's been messing with his head." You'll recall that Justin paid a brief visit to Gomez's Los Angeles home last week.

So, to sum up: Forget personal accountability and behaving like a grown-up despite trying circumstances. Instead, just blame the ex. Sigh. At least the monkey wasn't dragged into this.

Despite this apparent attempt to deflect responsibility for his actions, the Biebs considers himself a very caring person.

"I think that's part of the reason I'm here," he tells Teen Vogue. "Not just because I'm talented, but because God had a purpose for me to just help people. I'm spiritual ... although I slept in [and missed] church yesterday. I haven't been to church in so long, and I planned on going, and I slept in. I was upset. It's all good. God forgives me."

As we await word on his monkey's fate, click on for photos of Justin's PDA with Selena over the years ...

As Justin Bieber's quarantined capuchin monkey languishes in a German animal shelter, damage control has begun in earnest over his recent spate of bad behavior, which includes allegedly spitting in a neighbor's face and threatening a paparazzo. According to TMZ, his inner circle is now pointing the finger for his supposed spiral directly at his ex-girlfriend, Selena Gomez.

Insiders claim Bieber, 19, is "suffering his first case of heartbreak" and was "torn apart" when the brunette beauty, 20, called time on their capricious two-year romance late last year after a "blowout argument" in Mexico. What's more, he's allegedly acting out because he feels "tortured" by her inability to make "a clean break."

TMZ says Selena is "regularly calling him and sending him mixed messages, and it's been messing with his head." You'll recall that Justin paid a brief visit to Gomez's Los Angeles home last week.

So, to sum up: Forget personal accountability and behaving like a grown-up despite trying circumstances. Instead, just blame the ex. Sigh. At least the monkey wasn't dragged into this.

Despite this apparent attempt to deflect responsibility for his actions, the Biebs considers himself a very caring person.

"I think that's part of the reason I'm here," he tells Teen Vogue. "Not just because I'm talented, but because God had a purpose for me to just help people. I'm spiritual ... although I slept in [and missed] church yesterday. I haven't been to church in so long, and I planned on going, and I slept in. I was upset. It's all good. God forgives me."

As we await word on his monkey's fate, click on for photos of Justin's PDA with Selena over the years ...